Purplebricks could become the ‘Amazon’ of the property market if it invested in the necessary technology, according to a leading proptech consultant.
Andrew Stanton, Founder, Proptech-PR
Andrew Stanton, founder of Proptech-PR, told The Neg that Purplebricks’ technology is “in the foothills”, and has “lagged behind”.
The troubled agency was bought this week for £1 by rival Strike pending approval by its shareholders.
Sam Mitchell, CEO, Strike
Strike CEO Sam Mitchell told The Neg the combined firm would “highly likely” be called ‘Purplebricks’, as the brand was so recognisable.
He also said the new company would invest heavily in technology to make it “big, transformative and disruptive”.
Pay more
Stanton says the public would pay more for estate agency services if they “could just press a button and know they were getting a good price”.
He says Purplebricks should copy Amazon and “give customers what they want.”
“Amazon is a multi-trillion-dollar business, it sells things quickly, it has a 99% ranking in SEO and so is everywhere, its back-office functionality is beyond most other companies hence its dominance,” he said in a blog post.
It gives them another swing of the bat to make a long-lasting impact.”
City analyst David Reynolds of Davy Research told The Neg that Strike’s purchase of Purplebricks gives it an opportunity to create a very successful company.
“It gives them another swing of the bat to make a long-lasting impact on the UK estate agency arena, and establish a brand that is a disruptive force,” he says.
